Office Operation Updates

Financial record keeping is your legal duty as a representative, and it is also good practice. It helps keep you organized and confident when you need to follow up on things. Managing the affairs of someone else is an important responsibility, and you need to be able to keep the adult informed and respond to any questions or concerns they may have. If a monitor is appointed in the Agreement, th…

Written by Joanne on December 10, 2013Dear Joanne,As a representative, how detailed do the financial records need to be? For example, do I need to keep a record or receipt if I am a representative and I buy my son some chocolate milk syrup? Is there a certain amount of money that needs to be spent in order to provide a financial statement? How many years do I need to keep records?The Repr…

Written by Joanne on December 19, 2013Dear Joanne,I was just wondering if the attorneys in the Enduring Power of Attorney can be the same people as the representatives in my Representation Agreement Section 9?Yes, many people appoint the same person or people in their Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) and their Representation Agreement Section 9 (RA9). Often the same person or people are a…

Written by Joanne on February 24, 2014Dear Joanne,Why do I have to have the EPA drawn up by a lawyer or notary public if I am using the government EPA form?My husband and I have prepared our own Enduring Powers of Attorney documents (EPA) using the form published by the Attorney General of BC, September 1, 2011.  We need to have the EPA witnessed by a legal professional for Land Title pur…

Written by Joanne on April 16, 2014A Representation Agreement is a legal document that appoints someone you trust to be your representative if you need help making decisions. A Representation Agreement:Eases the burden on family and friends – those you choose will have the legal authority to help you and carry out your wishes. Avoids the involvement of government and other authorities i…

Written by admin on October 31, 2014Supposing that there is a couple with no relatives in Canada and the last person gets senile or both, who will come to look after them—is it the Public Trustee? I mean in the case that one of them still lives in their own home, but is not able to make decisions about their welfare alone.If an adult starts to lose mental capacity to manage his or her af…

Written by admin on December 17, 2014Are there differences if a Will is done by a lawyer or a notary public?There is no difference in legal effect between a Will done by a BC Lawyer or a Notary Public.Notaries are restricted by Section 18(b) of the Notaries Act that prohibits Notaries from drafting Wills with trust conditions where the trust is held past the age of majority (19) of the…

Written by Joanne on January 6, 2015If I become incapacitated and am in need of medical decision making, are not my children the default decision makers? Assuming I have enduring power of attorney for financial affairs. Yes, if you are determined incapable of giving or refusing consent to medical decisions and you have not made any legal arrangements for such an event, a health care p…

Written by Joanne on January 12, 2015Is there a financial cost associated with being a representative? A representative is not responsible to pay the adult’s bills or debts out of their own funds.Representatives are entitled to be paid back for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses they may encounter when carrying out their duties. For example, if they have to pay for photocopying or parki…